Tweezer



TWEEZER Filed May 19, 193s man Srwentor W J. Wy nnyk Gttornegl Patented Aug. l1, 1942 UNITED STATES.' PATENT @521GB TWEEZER Wasyl John Wynnyk, Detroit, Mich. Applicationll/Iay 19, 1939, Serial-No. 274,655 8 Claims. (Cl. 8.1-4.3)

This invention relates-to tweezers and like implements and particularly to devices for holding the jaws of such implements closed uponan object.

The invention is intended to provide a jawholder for tweezers and implements of similar character, readily operable by a hand holding the implement, to draw the jaws together upon an object or to release the latter.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a jaw holder for tweezers and the like having a jaw-releasing position in which the jaws may be manually hold close and released solely by their inherent spring effort, like an'ordinary pair of tweezers.

A further object is to locate a jaw holder for tweezers and the' like primarily between the jaws where it will be no impediment to use ofthe implement and may not readily be accidentally shifted.

A further object is to provide a jaw holder for tweezers exercising control of the jaws b-y a movement lengthwise of the latter.

These and various other objects the invention attains by the scribed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a pair of tweezers equipped with the improved jaw holder, the jaws being shown in spread position.

Fig. 2 is a side view with one of the jaws and a portion of the holder broken away.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the jaws, engaging an object, and secured by the holder in such engagement.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the holder removed from the tweezers.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

In these views, the reference character I designates a pair of tweezer jaw members of the usual spring nature and having the usual rigid interconnection at corresponding ends, the other or jaw ends being normally sprung apart to accommodate an object. As is usual, the jaws have a slight curvature such that their'free ends may more positively exercise their gripping function.

The jaw holder comprises primarily two similar light sheet metal finger springs 2 welded or otherwise rigidly connected at corresponding ends to an intermediate shorter sheet metal strip 3, and normally diverging in an approximately V-iorm, as best appears in Fig. 4. The intermediate strip 3, which is preferably somewhat construction hereinafter de-f tween such springs and rigidly carries a knob or button 4 projecting from an edge of the strip transversely to the plane established-jointly by the axesof the springs.

Secured to the inner faces of the jaw members l, in opposed relation, is a pair of slide guides 5, each consisting preferably of a small sheet metal plate extending from edge to edge 'of said face and spaced in its mid portion from said face. This relation is established preferably by forming the inner faces of the jaw members with short shallow grooves 6 extending lengthwise of said members, the slide guides being nat and bridged across such grooves. The finger springs 2 are slidably engaged in said grooves and retained therein by the guides 5, the interconnected-ends of said springs projecting from the guides toward the free` ends-of the jaw members, and the stripl 3projecting from the interconnected ends of the springs 2 toward the interconnected ends of the jaw members. The button 4 is disposed slightly above the-jaw members so that it may not impede a closing actuation of such members.

In use of the described implement, the button g 4 is adapted for ready engagement by/a finger stiffer than the springs 2 bisects the angle be- 55 of a hand gripping the tweezers, and said button together with the strip 3 forms a means for sliding the jaw holder lengthwise of the implement. When the jawl holder is in its forwardly shifted position, shown in Figs. 1- and 2, the springs 2 are afforded a divergence permitting the ljaw members to assume their maximum divergence. illustrated in Fig. l. Upon retracting the jaw holder from the free ends of the jaw members,

the interconnected ends of the springs 3 are advanced toward the guides 5, thus progressively reducing the divergence of said springs and con'J sequently reducing the divergence of the jaw members. Thus the jaws may be caused to firmly grip any interposed object 'i and may be held in a gripping position until the jaw holder is released. Necessity is thus avoided for eX- ertion of constant manual pressure on the tweezers in order to retain an object between the jaws thereof, and the performance of operations involving the use of tweezers is rendered much easier.

It is an important feature of the described improvement that the hand holding the tweezers serves to actuate the jaw holder. Thus a jeweler, watch maker, or repair man does not need to lay down a watch or other object held in one of his hands in order to control the tweezers held in his other hand.

It is another advantage of the described improvement that after engaging a small object by the tweezers, such object may be held so engaged, while the tweezers are laid aside, and cannot become mislaid, and need not be again gripped when its further manipulation by the tweezers becomes necessary.

An important feature of the jaw holder is its adaptability to be so compactly collapsed as to permit the jaws to close upon exceedingly small objects.

The invention is presented as including all such modiiications and changes as come within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An implement comprising a pair of elongated coacting jaw members, interconnected at corresponding ends thereof and jointly exercising a gripping function at their other ends, a pair of slide guides secured to the jaw members in opposed relation, and a pair of iinger springs interconnected at corresponding ends thereof and freely flexible to and from each other at their opposite ends and slidable as a unit in said guides, along the inner faces of the jaw members, whereby said springs draw the jaw members toward each other as the interconnected ends of the springs approach said guides.

2. In an implement as set forth in claim l, a button carried by said unit and projecting therefrom beyond the jaws and substantially transversely to the plane established by the longitudinal axes of said jaw members, for actuating travel of the unit in said guides.

3. A holder for the jaws of tweezers and the like comprising two similar finger springs interconnected at corresponding ends thereof and freely flexible to and from each other at their other ends, and an actuator for said holder secured between said interconnected ends and projecting between said springs toward their other ends, said springs being normally divergent and flexible toward each other to assume an approximately parallel relation.

4. A holder as set forth in claim 3, said actuator having a projection extending from an edge thereof, in a direction approximately transverse to the plane established by the longitudinal axes of said finger springs.

5. An implement comprising a pair of elongated coacting jaw members having longitudinally grooved inner faces and interconnected at corresponding ends thereof, and jointly exercising a gripping function at their other ends, a jaw holder comprising a pair of finger springs interconnected at corresponding ends thereof and having their other ends free to move to and from each other, said springs being slidable as a unit in the grooves of said jaw members, and a pair of slide guides secured to the jaw members, retaining the finger springs in said grooves, and adapting the holder to draw the jaw members toward each other by approaching the interconnected ends of the finger springs to said guides.

6. A substantially V-shaped jaw holder for the jaws of tweezers and the like comprising a pair of finger springs interconnected at corresponding ends thereof, an actuator for said holder secured between said interconnected ends and projecting between said springs toward their other ends, said actuator having an outward projection from an edge thereof for moving the actuator, said projection extending in a substantially transverse relation to the plane established by the longitudinal axes of said finger springs.

7. An implement comprising a pair of elongated coacting jaw members, interconnected at corresponding ends thereof and jointly exercising a gripping function at their other ends, a pair of slide guides secured to the jaw members in opposed relation, and a pair of elongated finger springs disposed between the jaw members and slidable as a unit lengthwise of the jaw members in said guides, said springs having corresponding ends interconnected between said guides and the gripping ends of the jaw members, and being free at their other ends to move to and from each other, whereby the jaw members are actuated to gripping position by approaching the connected ends of the springs to said guides.

8. An implement comprising a pair of elongated coacting jaw members, interconnected at corresponding ends thereof and jointly exercising a gripping function at their other ends, and a device interposed between and interconnecting the jaw members and slidable lengthwise of said members and effective to draw the jaw members together responsive to sliding in one direction and to release them responsive to opposite sliding, said device being collapsible and expansible to accommodate itself to the Variable spaced relation of the jaw members.

WASYL JOHN WYNNYK. 

